Materials that possess the ability to efficiently double or triple the frequency of light from a light source such as a laser are useful in the fabrication of electro-optical devices in which information storage or processing involves the modulation and switching of light beams.
Inorganic materials are known which double the frequency of laser beams, but these materials have a number of disadvantages, which include difficult or expensive processing, high dielectric constants, and electro-optic coefficients that are not high enough for some applications.
In view of the significant disadvantages of these inorganic materials, it would be useful to develop new materials to overcome those limitations. To that end, the present invention is directed to organic materials that have higher second order or third order susceptibilities than well known inorganic materials, and which are extremely easy to process because such compounds do not require electric poling or the preparation of large single crystals.